EMS

The College, in collaboration with the Alabama Department of Public Health Office of EMS and Trauma, implemented an EMS oversight program in 2007 to provide continuing education and updated technology to emergency medical services workers and volunteers in the West Alabama counties of Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Marion, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox counties.

Area IV Regional EMS Administration and Technical Assistance created a new Emergency Medical Services Program within the College by combining the forces of the College and its Institute for Rural Health Research with West Alabama EMS/EMPACT West Alabama. Glenn Davis, a paramedic, is director of the College’s EMS program. Davis has been involved with emergency medical services for the past 35 years and worked previously for the College, providing basic, intermediate and paramedic EMS training. He is also executive director of EMPACT West Alabama, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency medical and community training programs in West Alabama.

The College’s EMS program will ensure that licensed emergency medical technicians working or volunteering in West Alabama are in compliance with the Alabama Department of Public Health Office of EMS and Trauma requirements, such as National Incident Management System (NIMS), CPR training, and protocol education and continuing education. The program will also serve as an advocate for the Alabama Department of Public Health, helping to ensure that the agency’s goals and objectives regarding EMS data collection are met.

West Alabama EMS and EMPACT West Alabama’s board of directors had approached the College about the possibility of collaborating to better serve West Alabama residents. West Alabama EMS, along with assistance from EMPACT West Alabama, has provided regional EMS oversight for 32 years and was the contract agent with the Department of Public Health Office of EMS and Trauma to provide EMS services in West Alabama. The College, meanwhile, focuses on providing health care to those from rural areas and is developing an expertise in using innovative technologies for patient care and education.